By: Michael Adkison
WASHINGTON, D.C. (UATV) — Just one day into his presidency, Joe Biden signed more than two dozen executive orders and agency directives to establish his agenda on a number of issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, and racial equality.
“I’m going to start by keeping the promises I made to the American people,” Biden said to reporters in the Oval Office, next to a stack of the seventeen executive orders.
Many of them directly reverse specific policies and actions taken by the Trump Administration.
President Donald Trump signed one executive order on his first day of office, which marked the beginning of his ultimately unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare. In his first 100 days, Trump signed 24 executive orders.
Executive orders are directives issued by the President of the United States, provided in Article Two of the U.S. Constitution. Though they are, by definition, not legislation, they hold the same weight. Executive orders can face judicial review and be overturned. If that does not happen, an executive order stands until it is canceled, revoked, or expires on its own terms.
Coronavirus—Day 1
President Biden signed three executive orders on his first day of office pertaining to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, followed by more orders the next day. Two more orders, that day, pertained to the economic crisis as a result of the pandemic.
One of them is his oft-cited “100 Day Mask Challenge,” imploring Americans to wear masks for the next 100 days. Health experts say this would significantly curb the detrimental effects of the coronavirus.
Notably, the order is not a federal mask mandate, legally requiring all Americans to wear masks in public. The order does require, however, anyone in federal buildings to wear masks, a departure from the Trump administration. For example, anyone in the White House must wear a mask under this order.
Biden has urged state and local governments to do the same. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed an executive order in July requiring all Arkansans to wear a mask indoors.
Another executive order reversed Trump’s attempt to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. His third order created the job position of COVID-19 Response Coordinator.
Two of his orders pertain to the economic fallout of COVID-19. One extends the nationwide moratorium on eviction until March 31, and the other extends the deferment of payments on student loans until September 30.
Coronavirus—Day Two
On his second day in office, President Biden launched seven other orders and a memorandum as part of the Biden-Harris COVID-19 response plan.
Many of the President’s actions contribute to expanding the vaccination procedures. One of them calls on the Defense Production Act of 1950 in an effort to contribute to the COVID-19 vaccine and other protection equipment. Other mandates expand protections for workers, students, and teachers.
“We’re in a dark winter of this pandemic,” Biden said. On Tuesday, the United States surpassed 400,000 deaths of COVID-19.
One order mandates masks in airports and public transportation, including planes, trains, ships, and buses. Other orders call for preparations for future public health emergencies.
Equality
President Biden has iterated his goal to fight systemic racism in the country, including in his inaugural address. He signed an executive order to overturn the Trump Administration’s 1776 Commission, and he called for evaluating racial equity within the federal government’s policies.
The 1776 Commission, released on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, January 18, examined the role of recent critical reevaluations of American history, namely The New York Times’ 1619 project. The commission, which featured no professional historians, called the reevaluations problematic, and promoted a nationalistic history of the United States. The report was widely panned by historians.
Biden signed a second executive order, which prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Some Biden Administration picks have made progress for their LGBTQ+ identities: Pete Buttigieg is the first openly gay nominee for a Cabinet position, and Rachel Levine, Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of Health, would be the first openly transgender official to be approved by the Senate, if approved.
Immigration
Biden signed six executive orders pertaining to immigration or the status of undocumented citizens in the U.S., most of which directly rebutted efforts by the Trump Administration.
The president signed orders which ceased construction on Trump’s border wall; ended the so-called “Muslim ban,” which restricted U.S. access to passport-holders from seven Muslim-dominant countries; and halted the expansion of immigration enforcement.
Another order extended the deferral of deporting Liberians living in the U.S. as a safe haven until June 30, 2022. In 1991, the U.S. became a safe haven for Liberians after a civil conflict in their country forced them to flee. After the conflict ended in 2003, each president has at least partially extended the grant of save haven in the U.S., which President Biden continued.
One order pertained to the U.S. Census, calling for undocumented citizens to be included in census counts. Biden signed another order which sought to strengthen Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), protecting the rights of undocumented citizens brought to the U.S. as children, which President Trump sought to undermine.
Environment
Joe Biden signed two executive orders pertaining to climate change, both reversing implementations of the Trump Administration.
One order begins the thirty-day process of rejoining the Paris climate accords, a multi-national agreement to limit global warming. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2019.
The other order cancels the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Canada to Nebraska. The pipeline has caused outrage among environmentalists, who argue that the pipeline would cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem. President Obama delayed the project’s permit; President Trump worked to help the project; President Biden revoked the permit on his first day in office.
Other Executive Orders
Joe Biden implemented an executive order which requires appointees of the Executive Branch of government to sign an ethics agreement, separating personal interests from the independence of the office and the Department of Justice.
Another order calls on the Office of Management and Budget to review and enact several practices regarding regulatory review, as well as undoing Trump’s regulatory approval process.